Exception to the Rule
by systematic-alchemy
Summary: Death is the Rule, so Living is the Exception. After Anya's tribe infected the remaining Sky People with their own version of Hemorrhagic Fever, something no one from space could have an immunity to, the few survivors are forced to run from all Trigedakru straight into the Dead Zone, hoping to reach the fabled City of Light. How many of them will be an Exception to the Rule?
1. Chapter 1

Clarke woke up to near silence. She could hear the wind rustle the leaves in the trees and nothing else. She fell trying to get out of the hammock, and her thump triggered noise from the second level followed by Murphy jumping from the hatch.

"Oh good you're awake. We need to meet up with the others." He didn't wait for her to respond before walking out of the drop ship.

One glance told her that everyone else died from the virus sent in with Murphy. Jasper's body and Miller's were propped against each other blood crusted on their ashen faces. Turning her head to the other side she saw Bellamy, his eyes crusted shut with blood and his mouth wide open and tongue lax.

She found Murphy waiting for her outside the door, almost invisible in the dark moonless night. "We need to bury everyone."

"The Grounders attack at first light. That's in about an hour, we need to get out of here, Clarke. Now." He pulled her along by her wrist until she kept up of her own volition.

"You stayed with me?"

"I'm the only one that knows how to get to the place we're meeting the others. Well, Lincoln knows but he can get the others to safety, I can't. Now hurry cause if we don't get there soon, they'll leave without us." He ran, and she did her best to keep up with him but she still felt drained from being sick.

When the forest spun into black, her last bit of consciousness included being lifted off the ground.

* * *

A crackling fire and murmured conversations were the first of Clarke's awareness. She feigned sleep to listen to those around her. Monty kept saying something to Raven about how she needed to find a new reason to live. Octavia and Lincoln were strategizing about the best way to get them all through the Dead Zone in one piece. Sterling and Monroe were arguing about whether they should trust a Grounder with their lives. Monroe felt that trust had been earned while Sterling disagreed, loudly.

An arm rested across her stomach, holding her close to the body beside her. She opened her eyes to see Murphy as he twitched in his sleep. Before getting sick, Clarke had treated his wounds the best she could, and Lincoln helped with medicine for him. But Murphy wouldn't let anyone touch him other than Clarke. She didn't understand why he'd be like that. Wasn't she the reason he got hung and banished?

"Hey, look who's awake," Harper said. "We risked a lot waiting for you and Murphy to show up."

"The rest of Anya's tribe will search for us," Lincoln said. "We need to keep moving, but Murphy wouldn't let anyone touch you. And he needed rest. We should go before it gets light again."

"How long was I out?" Clarke asked as she pulled herself up to sitting.

"You've been in and out for a few days." Lincoln dropped a bucket of water on the fire, and it hissed while throwing off wafts of smoke. "Murphy shouldn't have been strong enough to carry himself let alone someone else, but love can sometimes make us capable of more than we otherwise would be."

"I heard you, and it's not love." Murphy groaned as he sat up.

No one argued with him, but Clarke pushed his dirty blood crusted hair out of his face. "Thank you for saving me."

"We need a medic." Murphy pushed himself to his feet. "Can you walk? Or do I need to carry you again?"

Clarke got to her feet. "I think I can manage." Now that she got a look around she could see that the forest was sparse here and the ground sandy. "Where are we going?"

Lincoln pointed toward the desert. "Through the Dead Zone. We need to find the City of Light. By now all Trigedakru will know of our betrayal. No one will take us, so our only hope is to find the City of Light."

"How much water do we have?" Clarke asked.

"Two canteens per person," Octavia said. "Lincoln says carrying more would weigh us down too much."

"Have you been to this city before?" Clarke asked.

"No. But people say that all are welcome there. That it's a peaceful place if you can find it." Lincoln's eyes were dark. "But there are more than a few traps between here and there, not to mention thieves and murderers."

"We should have staffs then. Something to stab the ground before every step. And we need someone to volunteer to walk point." Monty looked scared.

"I'll walk point." Raven's head was high, but she sounded like she'd welcome death.

"I've got your six, Raven." Clarke picked up two long sturdy but thin fallen branches and handed her one. "Don't step anywhere you don't test with this."

Murphy got his own stick and walked behind Clarke. "We shouldn't meander. Walk a straight line."

Monty picked up his staff. "Don't forget to compensate for automatic steering. One leg is shorter than the other, and we'll go in a circle if you don't keep that in mind."

"Lincoln? Any advice?" Raven asked.

"Cover your faces. Sand is enemy to breathing." Lincoln pulled his mask up to cover his nose and mouth.

Everyone followed suit, and Raven took the first step into the sandy darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

The brutal heat of the desert made a long journey longer. They'd been walking for days, not speaking much, and were almost out of water. Cresting another dune, Raven saw something in the valley. "Lincoln? What do you think?"

Lincoln peered over Raven's shoulder. "A trap. They'll tell us a sad story and then take everything we've got. We should circle away from them again."

The last time they'd seen signs of life, Lincoln took lead and led them in a wide circle around the strangers. This was no different.

Down, around, and up another dune, the group could see where the trap would have been. Sterling tripped and rolled down the sandy hill, stopping when he triggered a landmine, exploding into bits and pieces. The others jumped, yelled, gasped, and cried at seeing one of theirs die like that.

Raven stepped forward and took Lincoln's staff. "This is longer. They need you more than me." She gave her staff to Lincoln. "Let's get this over with, those guys over there see us now."

WIth Raven in the lead checking for landmines, the group made slow progress. With every step they took through the minefield, the thieves made more steps to cut them off.

Clarke whispered to Lincoln, "Are they in range of your bow?"

"Yes, but I have limited arrows. There's no avoiding this fight." As he passed a human skeleton, Lincoln ripped the machete out of its ribcage and handed it to Clarke.

Murphy took a knife sticking out of the same skeleton's eye and held it loose in his hand. Octavia already had a sword, and Raven had a gun slung over her shoulder. Monroe also had a gun, and Harper had a spear. But Monty had no weapon until Harper tore what was left of the humerus off the skeleton and handed it to him.

"Better than nothing," Monty muttered as he thanked heaven there was no meat left on the bone.

One more step and Raven's staff caught a mine throwing them all back. "Ah! My leg!"

Clarke gingerly crawled around the others until she was next to Raven. "You won't lose the leg if I take care of this now. But it might be awhile before you can walk again."

Lincoln offered Raven a leather bit. "Bite down on this while Clarke debrides the wound."

Raven did as he suggested and while Clarke performed impromptu surgery, the large group of bandits attacked.

Octavia hacked her way through three while Lincoln killed a few with his bare hands. Murphy slashed necks and faces, getting his arm punctured in retaliation. Monty surprised everyone when he beat a man twice his size down with that arm bone. Monroe and Harper worked as a team, Monroe shot out their legs then Harper speared them. Raven even shot one despite the pain searing through her leg and up her side.

They left one woman alive. Lincoln bound her hands. "This one will lead us through the minefield."

Emori, as her name turned out to be, knew the minefield well, and guided them halfway through without incident. Murphy carried Raven even with the deep slice in his arm. But they had to stop for a sandstorm. The wind whipped the sand at them, and they covered their faces and put their heads down.

It lasted most of the night, but when it cleared, the moon gave them ample light to keep moving. Clarke checked injuries before they started off again. Raven's leg still looked clean and Murphy's arm stopped bleeding finally. But Clarke knew that the desert was the worst place for open wounds. She made her way to the head of the line. "How much farther, Emori?"

"The minefield stops right before the next dune, from there it's due north." Emori sneered. "What will you do with me?"

Clarke looked back at their group then turned back to Emori. "We'll figure it out when we get there. But I can't help wondering if the City of Light is so great, and you know how to get there, why aren't you there."

"There's a body of water that needs crossed, but no one's ever made it." Emori stopped walking. "This is the end of the landmines. Over that dune is a ghetto made up of the unwanted. But there's shelter and water if they don't kill you."

Raven and Murphy grunted when his arm finally gave out. Clarke rushed to check them over. Octavia grabbed Emori by her hair. "We'll use you as a shield. Lincoln, we should check this out first. We'll come back for the others if we survive."

When Lincoln nodded his agreement, the three crested the final dune and disappeared. Clarke used the last of her water to clean out both Raven's and Murphy's wounds. Raven tried to stop her. "You don't know if she's telling the truth, there might be miles more desert before we get anywhere."

"And this needs to stay clean if you want to survive. We've all gone days without water on the Ark. And weeks without food. We'll be fine." Clarke tore off fabric from her undershirt and re-wrapped Raven's leg.

"She's right you know," Murphy said with a smirk. "And besides it'd truly be criminal to let someone as awesome as you die."

"You're trying to butter me up, so I'll give you my gun."

"Doubtful, that last shot you took was your last bullet." Murphy groaned when Clarke took more undershirt and tied it around his stab wound.

Monty, Harper, and Monroe sat down completing a circle with the others.

"What if they never come back?" Harper asked.

"If they aren't back by the next nightfall, then we'll worry." Clarke wiped the sweat off her forehead. "The important thing right now is to keep cool. We can dig for rocks. If they're cool we can run them over our skin to cool it off."

The four uninjured dug. Monty and Harper hit the motherload with four large rocks that felt as good as a cold rain on their skin. Monroe found a couple more and gave them to those without rocks. Then they buried them again, hoping they'd cool off again to be reused if needed.


End file.
